The Yankees Split an Important Series Against The Rays in The Bronx
The Yankees looked to bounce back after they were pathetically swept by the Detroit Tigers. Jameson Taillon got the start against the Tampa Bay Rays. He was cruising until the top of the third when he gave up a RBI double to Manuel Margot. In the fourth Austin Meadows hit a solo homer to extend the Rays lead to 2-0. In the fifth Randy Arozarena hit a RBI single to extend the Yankees deficit to 3-0. Jameson Taillon had a solid outing as he pitched five innings while allowing three runs on five hits. Lucas Luetge threw two shutout innings. Wandy Peralta and Luis Cessa also each threw a shutout inning.
The Yankees’ pitching was solid, but the Yankees offense was completely shut down by Rich Hill. The Yankees only pushed one run across, and it was by a solo home run off the bat of Miguel Andujar. The Yankees' quiet offense led to them dropping Game 1 of the four game set against the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 3-1.
The Yankees badly needed to get back on the right track. Domingo German got the start for the Yanks. In the first Austin Meadows hit a two run shot. With the bases loaded Tyler Glasnow walked Aaron Judge to cut the deficit to 2-1. Later that inning DJ LeMahiue scored off a passed ball to tie the game. In the fourth Miguel Andujar blasted a solo shot to take a 3-2 lead. In the fifth Kevin Kiermaier hit a solo shot to tie the game at 3-3. Domingo German’s outing ended after five as he allowed three earned runs.
Wandy Peralta threw 0.1 innings, and Jonathan Loaisiga threw 1.2 innings. In the eighth with the runners on the corners and two outs with Chad Green on the mound Joey Wendle blooped a ball into short right field. Odor could not get to the ball, and it looked like the ball was dropping in for a game leading single. But Clint Frazier comes out of nowhere and makes a game saving diving catch. In the ninth Aroldis Chapman threw a shutout inning.The game went into extras, and Lucas Luetge both threw scoreless innings in the 10th and 11th. In the bottom of the 11th with two outs and Gary Sanchez on third base, Clint Frazer stepped to the plate.
He took the first pitch for a strike, and on the very next pitch he blasted the ball over the left field wall to win the game. The Yankees got a much needed 5-3 win over the Rays to even the series thanks to Clint Frazier.
Jordan Montgomery got the start for the Yankees in Game 3. The Yankees got some early offense thanks to a two run shot from Gio Urshela in the first. In the fourth Manuel Margot had an RBI groundout to cut the lead to 2-1. In the fourth Clint Frazier drove in two off a single to stretch the lead to 4-1. In the fifth Yandy Diaz hit a sac fly to make it a 4-2 game. Montgomery ended up throwing 6.1 innings while allowing one earned run on five hits.
In the seventh Ji Man Choi hit a RBI single to make it a 4-3 game. The Yankees failed to blow the game open, so Aroldis Chapman came on for the save in a one run game. Chapman walked the first two batters. He then struck out the next two batters, and got a ground ball to end the game. The Yankees picked up their second straight win and took a 2-1 series lead over the Rays.
Gerrit Cole got the start for the Yankees as the Yanks tried to clinch the series victory. Cole was not sharp, and he had his worst outing of the season. Cole allowed five runs in five innings. The Yankees picked up two runs off solo shots from Brett Gardner and Miguel Andujar.
The Yankees pitching was poor, and the bats were quiet, but the Yankees were given no help by the umpires. The Umpires were making horrible call after horrible call against the Yankees, but they gave the Rays call after call. The poor umpiring led to Aaron Boone picking up his second ejection of the season. After Cole, Nick Nelson threw 1.2 innings while allowing four runs. Luis Cessa threw 1.1 scoreless innings, and Brooks Kriske threw a shutout inning. The Yankees settled for a series split as they lost Game four against the Rays by a score of 9-2.
Written by: Riley Briggs